PAM

IAM 101: Privileged Access Management (PAM) - Securing the Keys to the Kingdom TL;DR Privileged accounts are the master keys to your infrastructure. One compromised admin account can give attackers complete control—disabling security, stealing data, deploying ransomware. PAM combines policies, processes, and technology to control and monitor these accounts, using techniques like Just-in-Time access, credential vaulting, and session monitoring. It’s essential for preventing the breaches that start with stolen admin credentials....

Introduction The help desk at MGM Resorts had no idea they were about to enable one of the most devastating casino breaches in history. In September 2023, a group called Scattered Spider didn’t need sophisticated malware or zero-day exploits. They simply called the IT help desk, impersonated an employee using publicly available LinkedIn data, and convinced a well-meaning support agent to reset credentials and disable MFA. Within hours, they had super administrator privileges in MGM’s Okta and Azure environments....

Enterprise / Large — Post E1 (IAM) Focus: Unifying identity across hybrid and multi-cloud environments through platform-first IAM, enabling continuous Zero Trust and compliance at scale. Next: Post E2 explores Continuous Compliance and Identity Resilience (IGA) — operationalizing governance and audit automation. TL;DR For enterprises, IAM isn’t a collection of tools — it’s a security platform. When 2,000+ people, hundreds of SaaS apps, and multiple clouds meet regulation, you can’t afford identity silos....

TL;DR You don’t need a twelve-month program to stop the most common identity breaches. In 30 days, you can close the biggest gaps: Purge orphaned accounts Process leavers the same day Rotate & vault NHI (non-human identity) passwords/keys Enforce MFA everywhere; phishing-resistant for admins Disable legacy/basic auth + app passwords Kill standing admin; adopt least privilege + JIT elevation Put critical apps behind SSO; disable local logins Run a high-risk access review sprint Establish a Conditional Access baseline (device/risk/location) Turn on identity logging & alerts; harden break-glass Below is a day-by-day plan with owners, acceptance criteria, checkpoints, and metrics....

TL;DR Privileged Access Management (PAM) helps you secure the accounts that matter most—those with elevated permissions and the keys to your most sensitive systems. In 2025, attackers are still targeting admin accounts, service accounts, and infrastructure consoles. This article covers: What PAM is and why it matters Real-world breaches involving privileged accounts Best practices for securing high-risk access Tools and controls to implement PAM effectively 🔍 Background In my early IAM years, I saw developers with full domain admin rights—and no session logging....

The High Cost of Poor Privileged Account Management In the past year, several major security breaches were traced back to basic failures in privileged account management. Weak controls on admin-level accounts – from not using multi-factor authentication (MFA) to poor password hygiene – have proven to be low-hanging fruit for attackers. Microsoft reports that over 99.9% of compromised accounts lacked MFA, making them easy targets for password attacks ( Security at your organization - Multifactor authentication (MFA) statistics - Partner Center | Microsoft Learn )....